Snow Meets Ice: An Olympic Love Story
by blackindiaink
Summary: Aubrey Posen is in Sochi to compete but what she didn't expect was to be shower bombed by a certain redheaded snowboarder.


**A/N: Just a little story I couldn't help writing. For anyone waiting on She's My Song chapter 6, not to worry! I am doing the final edits tomorrow after work. Sorry for the delay but the chapter gave me a lot of issues and turned out twice as long as I expected. I hope you enjoy this in the interim. **

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The athlete's village was a sort of transient winter wonderland of dreams come true. It was a place where excitement was permanent and dreams of gold were bolstered by the surreal experience of simply making it to the Olympic Games. Sochi was no different.

Athlete's from all over the world mingled and mixed, each with a measure of giddy goodwill and frozen determination. For most, this was a place where you leave everything out there. Years of preparation and hours upon hours of training. It was heart wrenching to think that for some it would all be for naught.

In the day before the opening ceremony only a few competitions kicked off; snowboarding and the men's and pairs event in team figure skating. As she wasn't a part of either of those Aubrey Posen, a member of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team, found an extra few hours to slip down to the gym alone. She always preferred to work out by herself. It allowed her a sense of solitude and peace.

Her muscles worked from memory, performing each task with precision. Anyone watching wouldn't even guess that in her mind she was far away, skating on a surface of pristine ice at her rink back home. She went through every moment of her short program second by second, marking the places that she had been having issues. Each movement was planned out in time to her music.

This was where she excelled. She was a technically superior skater with a very graceful figure. Add a very athletic and strong physique to this and you had the perfect skater in theory. It was her tendency to beat herself mentally, the harshness on her own performances, that kept her from complete consistency.

She tried to clear her mind of everything but each step that she took. Each one was a calculated movement towards her goal. The sound of her footfalls on the treadmill were barely audible through the music pumping through her ear buds. She had apparently picked the perfect time to work out. The gym was empty but for one other person. Another girl that Aubrey had noticed when she entered.

The redhead seemed to be lazily going through a routine and watching something on her phone. The the wheel of the recumbent bike she was peddling whizzed around at a high speed. Aubrey closed her eyes and shook her head. The girl wasn't familiar but a Team USA jacket hung on the back of the bike seat, identifying her as one of Aubrey's teammates.

She put her head down and ran, content to feel the burn as she changed the slope of the treadmill to a higher elevation. There was no time to consider someone else's work out routine when she needed to focus on her own. Getting her head into competition mode was a process.

She didn't stop until an hour had passed. Enough time to make sweat glisten all over her exposed arms and chest. The purple top she wore was dark with moisture on her back and between her breasts. She stopped the treadmill and grabbed her towel. There were a few more people in the gym now but she kept her gaze constant. She heard a littering of different languages as she shouldered her bag and walked past them and out the door.

A shower area adjoined the gym and she walked quickly into it, missing the curious glance of the redheaded girl. In fact, she had no idea that the girl had been glancing over off and on throughout the hour, her attention drawn by the focus and intensity in Aubrey's body. She was impossible to ignore, a lonely island in a sea of people.

Aubrey dropped her bag and towel outside in the private dressing area of her shower stall and stripped down. It felt good to be free of the fabric and while she waited for the water to warm to the right temperature, just shy of scalding, she closed her eyes and tried to let everything fade away. There was no competition, no competitors, and no coach hounding her.

Her shower time was sacred. It was something she had set aside for relaxing and it held a meditative quality for her. She stepped under the spray and sighed as the water hit her body. Warmth enveloped her as she turned so her back was facing the onslaught. It was like heaven. Thankfully, the reports of water issues at hotels outside the village did not prove to be true here as well. The water ran hot and strong.

She went through the motions of cleaning herself, taking her time. Conditioning her hair was the last step and she rubbed the product through the ends, letting it sit there. She leaned against the side of the shower, turning her front to the shower head. In three minutes she could rinse but for now she would just stand and enjoy the simple pleasure of the heat.

Her mind was reaching out and she felt her muscles relax one at a time. The release was exquisite and soon she was completely immersed in the freedom of it. She began to sing softly at first but then louder as she receded deeper into her own mind. The shower area had been empty when she had entered and she wasn't even considering that anyone would hear her.

That was, until cold air brushed at her back and she spun, shock clear on her face. The redhead girl was there, smiling at her. Aubrey looked around for a sign that this was real. It felt like a dream in a way. The steam rose up around the girl, making her appear like an illusion.

It was when she stepped forward that Aubrey knew that it was definitely not a dream. Her hands shot out and she grabbed the shower curtain, attempting to cover herself. "What the hell?"

The girl's smile turned into a grin. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She stepped forward. "It's just, you have an amazing voice." The girl just looked at her for a moment before seeming to realize that she might be committing a social faux pas. "Oh, I'm Chloe, by the way. You are?"

"Aubrey, but what is the matter with you?!" Aubrey was looking for an exit. If she could just get to her bag and grab the bath towel inside she would feel better, but there was no way around Chloe that didn't involve getting way too close for comfort. "You can't just bust into people's showers."

Chloe's brow scrunched and one side of her mouth tipped down. "Hmm, sorry, I'm pretty confident about all this." Her hand swept back and forth up her very naked body. "And you should be too." Her eyes took a cursory look at Aubrey's exposed limbs, taking in the defined muscles of her thighs and calfs. "You have amazing legs."

Aubrey looked down where Chloe's gaze was directed and pulled the shower curtain closer to cover them. "Could you just hand me my towel, please? It's right inside the bag." This was beyond the pale. "Who are you anyway?" Aubrey had every intention of making a complaint to the appropriate authority.

"Chloe Beale," she said, while she stopped to grab the towel out of Aubrey's bag. She straightened up and handed it over. "US snowboarding."

Finagling the towel around her torso without giving Chloe a full show again was tough but she managed. When she looked up again, Chloe stood there, naked as she had been the whole time, grinning back at her.

"You're the figure skater right?"

There was no sense in avoiding a full introduction now. "Yeah," Aubrey said. She stepped out of the shower and into the dressing area, making a concerted effort not to look down but not being able to deny that Chloe should be proud of her body. Snowboarding was a sport that she had never thought about in detail but the muscles and tone in Chloe's body indicated that she was every bit the athlete.

"Um, okay… I'm going to get dressed now, if you'll leave." Aubrey's pointed look and no nonsense air made Chloe smile all over again. It was irritating, probably because somewhere deep inside Aubrey liked it.

"Okay, well, I hope I see you around. Maybe I'll come catch you compete." Chloe winked and stepped out of the shower stall.

Aubrey could hear her light footfalls across the tile floor. Relieved to be alone again, she sighed and sat on the bench beside her. The encounter had shaken her up a little. Dealing with surprises was not one of her favorite things in the world. It was definitely time to get back to her room.

She dressed quickly and made her way across to the exit, listening for sounds, hoping that Chloe had returned to her own shower. It was as if the girl had vanished. The predicted sounds didn't manifest and there was no signs that anyone else was in the shower room. Shrugging, she exited and looked behind her once while she rushed down the hallway. It was pretty late for her to be out.

The temperature had dropped just below zero and Aubrey pulled at her coat, having trouble finding the armhole with her right hand. She was in such a hurry to get out of the building that she had been trying to put it on as she walked. With a bag and to juggle, it had proved impossible.

Suddenly she felt someone grab the coat and pull it around so that she could put her arm through. She turned, adjusting the coat and bag so that they sat in the right positions. "Thanks," she muttered Then, she realized who it was.

"Oh, hello again," she rolled her eyes but couldn't keep a smirk from appearing.

"Yeah," Chloe winked, "Just me."

Aubrey shook her head and pushed open the door. "Well, I guess since we're probably going to the same place it would make more sense to walk together than to do the awkward walking separately but close to one another thing."

The laugh Chloe let out was musical and infectious. Aubrey couldn't help but join in. Maybe the way they met was a little weird but in a microcosm of elite athletes at an event like the Olympics, she should embrace it.

"I'd like that, Aubrey Posen, two time world champion ladie's figure skater," Chloe said.

Aubrey blushed and scoffed. "You totally knew who I was." Chloe just nodded and shrugged. It was kind of flattering. The heat receded from her cheeks and she gripped the strap of her bag, clearing her throat. "So what events do you compete in?"

The air misted in front of them as they breathed, creating a little cloud of white. It was kind of magical with all the snow surrounding them and the night sky above. Aubrey glanced over and took in their identical Team USA coats and Chloe's earthtone, multicolored beanie hat. Her red hair spilled out below the boundary of the hat in perfect waves. Aubrey realized she was staring and looked away quickly.

"Halfpipe and slopestyle," Chloe answered. They were nearing the apartment building where the US athletes were staying. "I'm pretty good on the halfpipe but slopestyle is my speciality."

Aubrey wracked her brain to call the difference to mind. She knew what halfpipe was but slopestyle wasn't an event she was particularly familiar with. She ducked her head and laughed to herself. The first thing she would do when she got back to her room would be to look it up because somehow in twenty minutes this girl had managed to intrigue her, bringing up the very beginning of feelings she never thought she would have again.

"Very nice," Aubrey said. She really was impressed. Seeing the boarders fly into the air, doing tricks and spins was a little awe inspiring.

"Well, this is my stop," Chloe said. They entered the building and stood at a hallway. To the left were rooms and to the right, the lobby. "See you around." Chloe gave one last smile and walked down the hall.

"Good luck," Aubrey called out.

Chloe turned, walking backwards effortlessly. "You too!"

Aubrey watched as she turned back around. A few seconds passed before she shook herself back to the present and headed for the elevator. There was definitely something different about Chloe Beale and Aubrey was afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from finding out more.


End file.
